Jen Oshman

Star Rating: 3.75

This book contains a much needed message for our day. I kept finding myself wanting to read the books she was often quoting from by authors such as James K.A. Smith, Os Guinness, and John Calvin.

There were definitely some quote-worthy moments in the chapters of this one, and lots of Scripture cited that made this book feel like drinking in God’s Word at times.

My only dislike was that at times the book seemed repetitive, such as sharing a quote and then reiterating it so closely which didn’t seem necessarily.

Overall, I’m glad to have read this book and would recommend it, especially to newer believers or to those in need of this message regardless of the number of years they’ve been believers.

Notable Quotes:

“The truth of the gospel is meant to transform us. . . It is meant to be the very center of our lives as followers of Christ.”

“The superficial use of the Scriptures in pursuit of what they can offer you and me individually is destructive because we don’t know what we’re missing. As we snack on little tidbits here and there, we miss the feast that God has intended to serve us . . . We insist on the Bible only serving our particular moment, our day, our needs, our habits, and we therefore miss out on a fuller, deeper understanding of God’s big story.”

“We’re attempting to create God in our image, rather than walking as creatures made in his. Instead of asking ‘How can I serve God?’ We are asking ‘How can God serve me?’”

“We’re a generation that has been raised on spiritual fast food, and we’re sick . . . The gospel is the most nourishing food we could ingest for our souls. And it is devoid of self. It’s all about Christ crucified, risen, and coming again.”

“…will we face whatever God asks us with joy? Will we allow ourselves to be propelled by gospel gratitude away from self and toward our Lord?“… (altro)

Such a refreshing book full of God's word and truth! To quote Jen... let go of Me-ology and take hold of Theology!

This book was the breath of fresh air I needed after trying to read so many modern “women’s spiritual” books out there. This book is loaded with scripture and encouragement. When we see the world as God sees it it is truly freeing that we are NOT enough but that HE IS. We are not able to pick ourselves up or get ourselves out of hard things. We need a savior… and that savior is Jesus. All other books filled with advice to be strong, trust ourselves, be the change, etc… are all coming from a place outside of the Bible and God.… (altro)

First sentence from the introduction: I, like you, want to be accepted. I want the approval and applause of others. I hate to cause conflict or to offend. I like it when other people like me. But these are polarizing days, and complete acceptance is hard to come by. Most of us--whether we're in a classroom, a boardroom, a coffee shop, or online--keep a low profile and keep as quiet as we can, so as to not be seen as arrogant or rude. We want to be genuinely humble and kind, and we want to be perceived so too. That's what's hard about this book.

First sentence from chapter one: We live in a unique moment that was delivered to us by a specific timeline in history.

What you see is what you get. Will you like what you see and what you get? Maybe. Maybe not. Oshman seeks to call out, to confront, five false views, five HUGE deceptions facing our culture today. She writes specifically for women and girls. (I don't personally know why she limits herself to reaching out to one gender. I think ALL five issues/deceptions/worldviews effect everyone.)

So Oshman writes of culture, society, worldviews, etc. This is balanced out by the Word of God. She sees the world through the lens of Scripture and she encourages readers to do the same. She counters lies with the truth. This is the best way, perhaps the only way. She assumes (rightly) that the Bible is the Word of God. That it is all the things--authoritative, infallible, inerrant, inspired. We are all immersed--to one degree or another--in our culture. There's no escaping the messages that are being thrown at us 24/7. But we can counter those messages and hold them up to scrutiny, to see them in light of the one thing we know to be true--the Word of God.

These are the five chapters that share the five topics.

Obsessed: Bodies, Beauty, and Ability
Selling Out for Cheap Sex
Abortion Has Not Delivered
Trending LGBTQIA+
When Marriage and Motherhood Become Idols.

Some seem like obvious deceptions. (At least to me). But others surprised me. It is easy to see how the world is 'lying' to us in x, y, z ways. But there are subtler ways as well. In particular, I doubt many believers could ever make the leap to thinking that marriage and motherhood are idols. (Now, this chapter is contrary to others. This message that idolizes marriage and motherhood over singleness and/or childlessness most often comes from the church. And I think, to a certain degree, it is subtle and perhaps an unintended consequence. By focusing on biblical womanhood, biblical marriages, biblical gender roles, it can seem that marriage and motherhood are everything, absolutely everything. That to be single, to be childless is to be "less than." Again, I think that more often than not this is not intentional, more unspoken. But the chapter does resonate. I can see it both ways. As a single, childless christian, it can be frustrating that many/most books written for Christian women by Christian women about Christian women, assume that you are married with a couple of kids. On the other hand, I don't think anyone means any offense. There's something to be said for NOT being offended by every little thing. I think to find offense anywhere, everywhere, at all times, always is problematic.… (altro)